Container construction



April 1939- H. K. POWELL CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec 1, 1937ive/22272": Hera/ 7 in ever, as in the case of various perishable fooding formingapart of this specificat on, a here- Patented Apr. 4, 1939 ga UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER CONSTRUCTION Henry K. Powell,Chicago, 111., assignor to Morris Paper Mills, Chicago, 111., acorporation of Illino s Application December 1, 1937, Serial No. 177,437

13 Claims. (Cl. 229-5.?)

This invention pertains to containers for the a disassembled orknocked-down condition and Packing or packaging of materials and relateset-up or a se b d by him easilyparticularly to closures for suchcontainers. Other and further objects of the invention will It iscustomary to package various food combe pointed out or indicatedhereinafter, or will 5 modities, and other materials, in bulk packagesbe apparent from the following explanation or in 5 for the purpose ofshipment and sale,.an-d for actual use of a container embodying theinventhis purpose it is important that the containers tion. haveclosures which are securely retained in place r e purpos of aiding in aexplanation of and which close the containers tightly. Howthe inven i nI sh w n e a m y wcommodities which are customarily kept in cold in terd s one form in which the v storage, it is necessary that the closure bere- ,tiOn y e embodied- It is to be understood, movable with facility inorder to permit periodic however, that this is presented merely forpurinspection by health authorities, etc., during the p e ofillustration and is not to be construed in time that the package isretained in storage and y fashion for the p p of limiting the p- 15prior to the time that it is delivered to the'conpended claims short ofthe true and most com sumer. It is likewise important that afterreprehensive scope of the invention in the art.

moval on such occasions, the closure be suscep- In said drawing, tibleof being replaced on the container quickly Fi 1 s a p sp t v v w f the up p rand with facility, and that it continue to function t on o a contan embodying the invention; 20

as a tight closure. Such ease of removability and Fig. 2 is a detail inthe nature of a vertical secreplacement is likewise of advantage whenthe U011 0 approximately 1111B Of gpackage is in the hands of theconsumer, in that Fig. 3 is a detail in the nature of a section simitfacilitates the dispensing of portions of the ilar to Fig. 2 but withthe f t nin m niber in contents from time to time. cast-01f position andthe cover removed; 25

For purposes of economy, it is desirable to em- Fig. 4 is a detail of asection similar to Fig. 3 ploy in the packaging of various commoditiesconbut showing the fastening element in another tainers which are madefor the most part of paper p s n:

, board or similar material and, for economy in Fig. 5 is a sideelevational view of a fastening shipment, it is desirable that suchcontainers be element; I

of collapsible or knockdown character, so that a Fig. 6 is anelevational view of the inner side large number of them may be packagedand of such element; and

shipped in a comparatively .small cubic space. Fig. 7 is a perspectiveview of the same.

The present invention provides a closure which The nature of theinvention will be most quickmeets these various requirements and whichcan ly ascertained from a description of the illustra- 35 be supplied atrelatively little cost. tive embodiment shown in the drawing. The ref- Ageneral object of the invention is the proerence numeral l0 designatesthe body portion vision of an improved container construction inof thereceptacle and is here shown as of cylincluding a removable closure orcover which may drical form, it being understood, of course, thatbeplficed on and removed from the container rethe invention may beemployed in containers hav- 40 'peatedly without involving mutilation ofeither, ing bodies of other forms, such as conic or various togetherwith holding or securing means for faspolyhedral shapes. The body membermay also tening the cover on the container in such fashion be ofcollapsible character, but it is to be underthat it forms a tightclosure therefor, the sepurstood that the invention is not limited touse in ing means being susceptible of operation with containers of thator any other specific type. 5 facility to release the cover, so that itmay be At a short distance below its upper margin the removed, and toagain fasten it in place after it body member is provided with anoutwardly exhas been restored to position on the container. tendingperipheral shoulder H, which is most Another object is the provision ofsuch a conclearly illustrated in Fig. 4. This may be formed st ructionwhich is particularly adapted to use in by scoring the body material ata slight distance 50 containers having body portions of paper boardbelow its upper margin and bending the upper or similar material.portion l2 outwardly and downwardly into con- Yet another object is theprovision of such a tact with the peripheral surface of the body,

construction which is of simple character and of and securing it by anadhesive or other suitable such nature that it may be supplied to theuser in fastening. This shoulder I l affords one of the 55 elements forholding an anchor ring I4 in place on the body member. This anchor ringis a hoop-like member made of sheet metal, of size such as to embraceclosely the strip I2. Its up per portion is formed as an inwardly-turnedflange or channel I5 wide enough to receive and fit closely upon theupper margin of the body member, and the lower end of the anchor ring isformed with an inwardly directed lip or flange I6 positioned so as toengage under the shoulder II. Due to the slightly flexible character ofthe paper board body member, this anchor ring may be applied to it bythe user.

The cover comprises a hoop member I1 and a closure disk I 8. The hoopmember II preferably is formed of sheet metal and is of such size as toflt the periphery of the anchor ring I4, and preferably is slightlyflared at its bottom portion, as illustrated at I'Ia, to facilitate theentry of the latter within it. Its upper portion is bent inwardly anddownwardly to form a bead I5 which overhangs the marginal portion of theclosure disk I8. The closure disk may be made of paper board, and isof'such diameter as to flt snugly within the member I'I so that theinner margin of the bead I9 engages it at some disstance fromits'margin. Accordingly, when the cover is in place on the container,the closure disk I8 seats upon the arcuate crown of the flange I5, andthe inner margin of the cover hoop bead I9 engages the upper surface ofthe closure disk approximately over the crown ofthe flange I5.

As a means for securing the cover on the container, I employ, inconjunction with the anchor ring I4, a plurality of fastening elementssuch as the clip illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. This clip is made ofresilient sheet metal with a web portion 20 which, adjacent its upperend, is bowed outward slightly as at 2|, and thence curved upwardly andinwardly to form a hook portion 22, which then continues downwardly as acatch portion 24, and thence upwardly as a nose portion 25. A downwardlyprotruding hump or embossment 26 is formed in the hook portion betweenits highest part and the-catch portion 24. At its lower end. the webportion 20 is continued as a laterally directed flange 21- whichterminates in an upwardly and obliquely-directed anchor flange 28. Thestraight line distance between the bottom of the detent 2B and the uppermargin of the anchor flange 28 is slightly less than the distancebetween the crown of the channel flange I5 and the bottom of the lip I 6of the anchor ring. The width of the flange 21 is slightly greater thanthe width of the lip 26 plus the thickness of the closure hoop I I, andthe distance between the top of the flange 21 and the under surface ofthe highest portion of the hook 22 is slightly greater than the totalheight of the anchor ring plus the thickness of the closure disk I8 plusthe height of the bead A plurality of these clips are attached to thecontainer by engaging the hook portion 22 of each over the crown of theanchor ring flange I5, then pressing downwardly on top of the hookportion 22 so as to spring the hook sufficiently to permit the anchorflange 28 to be pressed inwardly past the inner margin of the lip I6.Then when pressure on top of the hook portion 22 is released, the hookportion springs up to its original form, and moves the anchor flange 28upwardly inside the lip I6, to a position approximately as illustratedin Fig. 4. The clip is then pressed upwardly so that the anchor flange28 is forced in between the strip I2 and the side wall of the containerbody to a position approximately as illustrated in Fig. 21 The clip isthen swung outwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3,

which movement is accommodated by the flexibility of the wall of thebody member, as illustrated in exaggerated proportion in that figure. Itwill be observed that in both the positions illustrated in Figs. 4 and 3the clip is retained against falling oif of the anchor ring.

A plurality of the clips are thus applied to the anchor ring at suitableintervals about its cir-. cumference. When the clips are in theoutwardly swung position illustrated in Fig. 3, the cover may be appliedto the anchor ring by telescoping the hoop I1 thereover, an operationwhich is facilitated by the inwardly sloping form of the flange I 5 andthe slightly flared form of the lower portion Ila of the hoop. The coveris pressed down until the closure disk I8 seats on the crown of theflange I5, and then the clips are swung upwardly and pressed inwardly sothat their noses 25 are cammed over the arcuate bead I9, thus swingingthe hooks upwardly until the detents 26 snap over the crown of the beadI9 and engagesaid bead inwardly from its crown.- In such position theclip remains under some elastic stress or tension between its point ofbearing on lip I6 .of the anchor ring and the point of bearing of thedetent 26 on the bead I9 of the cover hoop. Accordingly, this springtension of the clips exercises a continuous force which,

through the instrumentality of the bead I9, presses the closure disk I8tightly against the crown of the anchor ring flange I5. As the actualbearing area between the arcuate flange I5 and the closure disk is verynarrow. a very tight closure is effected along said line of contact.

The cover may be removed when desired by pressing the clips outwardly todisengage them from the cover hoop and then lifting the cover off of theanchor ring. After such removal, the cover may be put back on andsecured in place as above described.

It will be observed that although veryeasily operated for opening andclosing the container, this closure construction fastens the cover inplace on the container very securely. It will be observed, moreover,that this is accomplished without subjecting the container body tostresses,

hence giving the construction particular utility in containers havingbodies made of paper board or similar material. The clamping pressurewhich holds the cover in place is assumed entirely by the clamping ring,cover hoop, and clips. Another feature of distinct advantage resides inthe fact that the entire closure structure may be assembled withfacility by the user, hence permitting the container to be shipped inknocked-down condition. In such assembly, the anchoring is first appliedto the body member by inserting the upper margin of the latter withinthe lip I 6 and thence into the channel of the flange I5, whereupon thestrip I2 and its shoulder II are pressed outwardly over the lip I6, andthen mounting the desired number of clips on the anchor ring as abovedescribed.

The construction has thefurther advantage that containers embodying itmay be supplied to users at a cost sufficiently low to warrant thecontainers being discarded after a single use.

What I claim is:

1. A container construction comprising the combination with the bodymember, of ananchor ring secured to the body member and exand clipsinterengaged withthe anchor ring and movable outwardly relative to thebody member;

while attached to said ring, to positions where they clear the closure,said clips having portions for engaging over the closure and holding itun- -der resilient pressure against the anchor ring.

3. In a container, the combination with the body member, of an anchorring encompassing the body member at its upper end, a closure seating onthe" anchor ring, and resilient clips hooked to the anchor ring andengaging over the closure, said clips adapted to be swung out- -wardlyon the anchor ring, without distortion,

to positions clear of the closure while they remain attached to theanchor ring.

4. In a ,fcontainer, the combination with the body member, of an anchorring encompassing and aiiixed ;to the upper end portion of the bodymember,a closure seating on said anchor ring and having an upstandingbead adjacent its margin, and clips hooked at their lower ends to saidanchor ring so that their upper ends may be swung inwardly and outwardlyrelative to the closure, said clips having resilient catch portions forengagement over the upstanding bead of the closure.

5. In a container, a. structure as specified in claim ,4 and whereinsaid upstanding bead is arched transversely and said clips have detentportions for engagementwith said bead inwardly beyond its crown.

6. In a container, the combination of a body member having an outwardlyprojecting shoulder adjacent its upper end, an anchor ring encompassingthe body member adjacent its upper end and engaged under said shoulder,a removable cover for the body member, and clips having rockingattachment at their lower ends to the anchor ring so that their upperends maybe swung inwardly and outwardly relative to the body memberwithout distortion of the clips, said clips having resilient portionsengageable over portions of the cover to secure it on the body member.

'7. In a container, the combination specified in claim 6 and wherein theanchor ringhas at its .lower end an inwardly extending lip engagingunder the shoulder of the body member and the clips are hooked at theirlower ends to said lip.

8. In acontainer, in combination,

abody member of flexible material, an anchor ring encompassing thebodymember adjacent its upper end and holding said end in shape, a.removable cover for the body member, and a plurality of clips hinged tothe anchor ring for swinging movement inwardly and outwardly and havingresiliently movable detents adapted to snap over portions of the coverto retain the clips in their inward position and hold the cover on thebody member.

9. In a container, the combination specified in claim 8 and wherein thecover has a portion encompassing the anchor ring and a portion seatingon top of the anchor ring.

10. In a container, the combination specified in claim 8 and wherein thebody member has portions cooperating with the clips to restrain them intheir outwardly swung position clear of the cover.

11. In a container, in combination, a body member, an anchor ringencompassing and secured to the upper end thereof, an end closuremember. seating on the anchor ring, a hoop encompassing the end closuremember and fitting telescopically over the anchor ring, said hoop havinga marginal bead upstanding from the end closure member, and a pluralityof clips hinged on the anchor ring so as to swing inwardly andoutwardly, said clips having resilient catch portionsjengageable oversaid upstanding ,bead to clampthe end closure on the body member.

12. In a container, the combination specified in claim 11 and whereinthe body member and end closure member are of paper board and the anchorring and cover hoop and clips are of metal, and the anchor ringenshrouds the upper margin of the body member and the upstanding bead ofthe closure hoop overlaps the upper surface of the end closure memberover the upper margin of the body member.

13. In a container, in combination, a body member having an outwardlyjutting shoulder adjacent its upper margin, an anchor ring encompassingthe upper end of the body member and having an inwardly extending lipengaging under said shoulder and an inwardly extending channel-shapedflange enshrouding the upper margin of the body member, a clip having atits lower end an upwardly extending hook engaged of the body member,said clip having at its upper end an inwardly extending catch portionaffording a detent which is spaced from the upper edge 04 said hook by adistance less than the height of the anchor ring, and a cover adapted toseat on the anchor ring, said clip adapted to be swung on the anchorring outwardly to a position clear of the cover and inwardly to aposition wherein said detent engages over a portion of the cover.

HENRY K. POWELL.

between said lip of the anchor ring and the side

